AYLA

I shouldn’t have kissed him.

I meant to hurt him with it. Or maybe hurt myself. I don’t know anymore.

Now I’m pacing this damn guest room like a caged wolf, waiting for the regret to settle.

It doesn’t.

There’s a knock.

“Go away.”

Door opens anyway.

Of course it’s him.

Cassian steps inside like he still owns air.

“We need to talk.”

“No, you need to talk. I need to sleep. Or shift. Or scream.”

He closes the door. “You kissed me.”

“I know what I did.”

“Do you?”

I glare at him. “Don’t stand there acting like it meant something.”

“Didn’t it?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

I shove past him. “Don’t you dare come in here swinging emotions at me. I survived three years without you.”

“And now you’re back.”

“Only because someone wants our son dead.”

He pauses. “Say that again.”

“Our. Son.”

He exhales like I punched him in the gut.

Good.

I need to hurt him before I let him get close again.

“I’ll stay,” I say. “But only until I know he’s safe.”

“Fine.”

“I don’t want a pack ceremony. No dramatic reintroductions. I’m not your Luna.”

He steps in close. Too close.

“You’re still marked.”

I slap him.

Hard.

He takes it.

Then: “You hit like you still care.”

I hate him.

Worse? I hate how fast I look at his mouth when he says things like that.

I move to the bed, sit beside Leif. He’s still asleep. Thank the goddess.

“Is he going to shift?” I ask quietly.

“I don’t know.”

“Neither do I.”

Cassian sits across from me. “I’ll help you figure it out.”

“You don’t get to play father now.”

“I’m not playing anything.”

Silence.

He leans forward, elbows on his knees. “What do you remember about the night you left?”

“Everything,” I say.

“You think I chose her over you.”

“I know you did.”

“I chose the pack.”

“Same thing.”

He doesn’t argue.

Good. Let it sit.

“You know what I remember?” I whisper. “I remember standing outside that council chamber, blood in my mouth, waiting for you to fight. You never came.”

“I thought you’d wait.”

“I did,” I snap. “Until waiting felt like dying.”

He looks down.

I don’t feel better for saying it.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks.

“I wanted to,” I admit. “But I was scared you’d take him.”

“I wouldn’t have.”

“You didn’t even fight for me, Cassian. Why would I trust you to fight for a child you didn’t ask for?”

He stands. Walks to the window.

“Maybe I deserved that.”

“You did.”

“I’m here now.”

“Too late.”

He turns back. “But not useless.”

My chest aches.

I tuck Leif in tighter. “He had a dream about someone coming for him. A woman in white.”

Cassian’s face goes still. “Moonshard.”

“Who?”

“She’s not a person. She’s an omen. A warning in our old texts. Appears to bloodlines touched by ancient power.”

“Why him?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “But if she’s marked him…”

“He’s in more danger than we thought.”

He nods once. “We’ll need to move him into the high tower. It’s warded. No one gets in or out without permission.”

“Won’t that raise questions?”

“Let them ask.”

I sigh. “So now what? We just sit here and wait for ghosts?”

“No,” he says. “We prepare.”

I glance at him. “Together?”

He hesitates.

Then: “Yes.”

I hate how my heart reacts to that word.

“Fine,” I say.

He turns to leave. Stops at the door.

“Ayla?”

“What?”

“If you kiss me again…”

I don’t answer.

I won’t give him the satisfaction.

But goddess help me, I’m already thinking about it.

The door creaks open again.

I don’t look up at first.

I think it’s Cassian.

It’s not.

Her scent hits me first. Sweet. Synthetic. Pack-claimed.

Her.

“I see the rumors are true,” she says smoothly.

I lift my head, slow. “You are?”

She walks in like she owns the place. Perfect hair. Pack sigil stitched into her cloak. Eyes like polished glass.

“Elara,” she says. “Cassian’s Luna.”

I blink. Then smile, slow and sharp. “Oh. You’re the one he settled for.”

Her mouth twitches. “Funny. I don’t remember you being clever.”

“I don’t remember you being brave.”

She crosses her arms. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Neither are you, apparently. He didn’t mention you once.”

She flinches. Just slightly. “That child… he’s yours?”

“Yes.”

“With him?”

“Unfortunately.”

She scoffs. “You think this changes anything?”

“I think you should leave before it does.”

“I’m his Luna,” she spits.

I rise, slow and steady. “No. You’re his convenience.”

Her face burns red. “I’ve stood beside him in council. I’ve slept beside him for three years.”

“Did he ever look at you the way he looked at me last night?”

Her silence is everything.

“You think this pack is yours?” I whisper. “You think power makes you chosen? I was never claimed in ceremony, Elara. But I was felt in his bones.”

She trembles.

I smile. “And you’ll never be.”

The door flies open.

Cassian.

He takes one look at us and swears under his breath. “What did you do?”

“I introduced myself,” I say, brushing past him.

He grabs my arm. “Ayla—”

“She came to make a scene. I let her.”

He looks at Elara. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Her eyes fill. “Cassian, I’m your Luna.”

His jaw tightens. “No. You were.”

Elara chokes back something — a sob or a snarl.

Then she storms out.

Cassian turns back to me.

“You didn’t have to humiliate her.”

“I know.”

“Why’d you do it?”

I lean in close.

“You owe me that much fun.”

Cassian doesn't stop me as I walk away.

He doesn't speak.

But I feel his eyes burning into my back like a second spine.

Let them all watch. Let them whisper.

I didn’t come here to be claimed.

I came to protect my son.

But if anyone thinks I’ll break quietly—

They’ve clearly forgotten what kind of wolf I am.